Toward the Jade Steps

Zhu Chunyuan was born into a prestigious family and had been willful and carefree since childhood. She and Lingzhou Wang, heir to the Marquis of Loyal Valor, grew up together as childhood sweethearts. They were the talented young man and beautiful young woman whom everyone in the capital envied.

But a political upheaval destroyed the marquis's household. Lingzhou Wang escaped alone from a mountain of corpses and sought refuge with the Zhu family.

That night, as rain poured down, Zhu Chunyuan stood by the door. Fighting back the sting in her nose, she blocked the group of men her father had sent from entering.

She gazed at the drenched young man before her, his body reeking of blood, and spoke with cold resolve. "You are no longer an heir, and we are worlds apart."

After that night, Lingzhou Wang vanished. In the eyes of the world, the young heir had died along with the marquis's household that rainy night.

When Zhu Chunyuan came of age, an imperial edict brought the downfall of the Zhu family, and she was forced into the Music Bureau under the assumed name Yuan'er.

After a palace banquet, she wandered through the palace with her pipa in her arms and accidentally entered a room, where she found a man with a cool, refined face.

It seemed he had been waiting there for a long time. He looked at her with an inscrutable expression and said, "Miss Yuan'er, I've heard so much about you."

Even after five years, Zhu Chunyuan still recognized Lingzhou Wang.

Hatred filled his eyes. After forcing her to spend a wild night with him, he stared dazedly at the marks on the bed.

After a long silence, he laughed mockingly. "You are no longer a noble young lady, and we are worlds apart."

-

After his family was wiped out, Lingzhou Wang spent five years lying low and plotting before changing his name and returning to court. He prided himself on being able to calculate people's intentions without ever losing his composure, yet the moment he saw Zhu Chunyuan, he lost his head.

Having given her his sincere love only to have it rejected, he could not accept it. After taking her by force, he refused to let her go and imprisoned her in his residence.

He was ruthless and decisive, first entering government and then killing the emperor. Only when facing Zhu Chunyuan would he rein in the fury in his expression.

"Yuan'er, don't cry. What if I order someone to bring your father and brothers back?"

#Later, my childhood sweetheart the treacherous court official begged for my forgiveness every night#

*Possessive pursuit / both are each other's first and only / happy ending

*In this story, girls come of age at eighteen. The male lead's compound surname is Lingzhou, and his given name is Wang.

Theme: Growing toward the sun